Randy Couture says Anderson Silva “didn’t really” beat Chael Sonnen

It appears UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has been dipping into middleweight Chael Sonnen’s Kool-Aid. Couture, who can usually be counted on for an informed opinion and intricate analysis, was recently asked to weigh in on Sonnen’s upcoming fight with Anderson Silva and gave an answer possibly raising a few eyebrows outside of West Linn, Oregon.

“It’s kind of odd. Normally I would say that the onus is on the guy who won the first fight to anticipate the changes the loser is going to make and get the same outcome,” said Couture, a former Team Quest teammate of Sonnen’s, in a conversation with MMAFighting. “It’s guess-work. It’s harder for the guy who won (the first time) in the second fight.”

“If you look at Anderson and Chael, Anderson won by Triangle Choke with two minutes left. He didn’t really win the fight. He got his ass whooped – literally – for four-plus rounds,” Couture explained, elaborating on his initial statement. “But it’s almost like (Sonnen) was the guy that won, cause he wants it to go the same minus the Triangle. He wants to go out, wade through him, take him down repeatedly and beat him up.”

“What is Anderson gonna do,” Couture continued. “He doesn’t wanna get beat up for four rounds and pull it out. He wants it to be a completely different fight. So he’s gonna have to make some adjustments.”

While Couture’s assessment of the matter is correct in terms of the action involved, it also seems a bit disingenuous and disrespectful considering there’s no question Silva definitively won the bout by finishing Sonnen. Fortunately, though the accuracy of Couture’s words can be debated, fans will find out whose gameplan is definitively superior the second time around in a little more than a week when Silva-Sonnen clash in headlining action at UFC 148.

No no I get Randy’s point. Anderson won the athletic contest….chael won the FIGHT.
Now sadly the pride of knowing that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.
Anderson does need to adjust, however, in the end all he has to do is pull of a miracle like last time.
But I dont see it going that way…I see a chael takedown or two…A Spider sub attempt and sweep after a few minutes of sharp elbows to chael’s face….and the worst beatdown in MMA history ensuing.

I think the nuance of Randy’s point is being missed. Silva won the fight, but whatever his plan was, going into it, didn’t work. He got a pretty fortuitous triangle to save himself from being utterly routed, 40-45 or worse.

Randy’s general sentiment was that Chael, despite being recorded as the loser, has a solid gameplan — aside from weak triangle awareness / defence — so he won’t be changing up very much. Meanwhile, Silva had difficulties dealing with Chael’s relentless wrestling; just like Hendo was at least able to hold him down in their first fight.

Thus, Randy’s point is that going into this fight, Silva is the one who has to prove it’s going to be a different fight, while Chael is aiming to repeat; a total contrast to what you’d expect from an Anderson Silva rematch.

Its gonna come down to ground game and sonnen has no bjj.if couture is so confident in sonnen why didnt he beat michida if the match ups are so similar? Maybe were gonna see a third front kick to the face.

Imagine if other sports were like this. Nfl commissioner comes out and says “hey the browns were winning up until the last minute but the Seahawks punted the ball for the win. I’d say the browns were the real winners, let’s have an immediate rematch next week cuz this was too close.”

If MMA is going to get any mainstream respect immediate rematches need to be done away with, exception being a draw in a title fight. And if a fighter is submitted, he lost. It doesn’t matter what happened leading up to that.

Yeah I dont get how people are so sure Sonnen is going to get smashed after the first fight. A.Silva has ALWAYS had probs stopping good takedowns and ALWAYS had trouble getting back up.
I dont thinl Silva will be able to stop the TDs or get back up (he hasnt for the last 12 years) so he will have to catch Sonnen on the way in or off his back imo.

personally i think its bollocks. Anderson finished Chael Sonnen. Chael quit. he tapped to a submission. its not like Anderson won a contested split decision. if he had held onto the choke longer or torqued the arm longer, Chael would have been unconcious with a broken arm. Anderson won the fight. the fact that he came from behind to win doesnt mean he only won an athletic contest.
Sure Chael beat him up for 4 1/2 rounds, no one is disputing that. if someone is beating on me and then i grab a bar stoll and wrap it round their head and its the only offensive move i make and the other guy is left unconcious on the floor, that guy is not gonna get props from all his buddies for winning the fight for a bit before getting fucked up. he’s not gonna walk around telling everyone he won that fight right up to the point where he was rendered unconcious.
so fuck Chael Sonnen, Anderson won that fight, and if there is any justice in the world (yeah, i know there isnt) then Anderson will win again, and hopefully torque that arm just a little further if he gets the chance.

just to clarify i’m no huge Anderson Silva fan, its not like i’m all over his nuts

This article.is a bit disingenuous and disrespectful towards Randy Couture.
I did learn some big words though.
I suggest that you watch the full interview as advertised on MMA Fighting to get the full idea of what Couture is talking about.
Nice try ,BC.

Like hindisght said, if we go with the *street fight* mentality like the West Linn gangsta Chael Sonnen often talks about, in the first fight with Silva he wouldn’t have had the convenient option of asking his opponent to stop choking him unconscious and/or breaking his arm. Instead, the fight carries on and tough guy Chael would be an unconscious lump on the ground at the mercy of whatever his opponent chose to do (or not do) to him next.

Given Chael’s propensity to find himself locked up by his opponents in very compromising submission positions, he can be awfully happy there’s a ref nearby to bail him out.

Anyway, the whole thing is obviously silly, as we’re talking about mixed martial arts and not Chael’s own silly ideas of what fighting at this level is all about. It’s just amusing how so many people take Chael’s words at face value & buy into it, rather than stopping to think twice & realize the absurdity of what he’s spouting.

Another example… let’s say Chael had been able to successfully fend off the late triangle submission in the first fight. He gets his arm raised, Dana puts the belt around his waist, and it’s the biggest upset in MMA history, in terms of exposure. It becomes a story that would have garnered attention on any legitimate sports outlet.

Except that once his failed test result came back, showing elevated testosterone levels, the result would be overturned, and the belt taken away from Chael & given back to Silva. So now Dana White & company are left to explain the biggest PED scandal in MMA history, answering questions about how widespread PED use and cheating is in MMA, likely leaving many casual fans assuming the sport is dirty, therefore illegitimate… a major black eye for the sport in general.

And oh by the way, this was before the landmark TV deal with FOX was completed. Not saying it would have completely botched that plan, but I think it’s safe to assume it would have thrown a hitch in the overall plan & negotiations.

Something tells me Dana White would not have been very happy if that scenario had played out.

So yes, Chael, keep telling us how you “won” the first fight, even though losing turned out to be probably the best thing that has happened in your career, avoiding the fallout from what otherwise could have been.

Yea I get what hindsight is saying but Richard you cant really use the analogy of a street fight to thier fight bc if that was a street fight silva wouldnt have been allowed to get up every 5 mins and rest and talk to his corner…chael would still be beating on him and i’ll say after 10 straight mins of that silva would of been out….but I get ya’lls point, what you gotta love about sonnen and you cant ever take this away, before their first fight he said he would beat anderson azz and everybody laughed and said yea right you will get knocked out in the first round and he would out there and did exactly what he said he was gonna do…now he is saying it again and people are still laughing…so we will see

If the same cheal shows up that barely squeaked past Bisping, it’s not going to be anything like the first fight. Plus he won’t be at a level of testosterone 17x a normal man, I’m sure that didn’t help at all.